It was a longstanding joke among fellow police officers that Craig Ruthowsky was the king pin of a Hamilton gang. That’s what a Toronto jury heard today on the fifth day of evidence in the trial for the Hamilton detective constable charged with bribery, trafficking, conspiracy, breach of trust and obstruction of justice.

“Or the leader… We all used to joke that’s how he knows so much about them,” Hansen said.

The jury has been told not to speculate why Hamilton police officer Robert Hansen is only being heard in court through a recorded interview with an OPP detective, and not in person. As that interview resumed today, Hansen spoke about how the Gang Unit officers spoke after seizing a pile of cash.

“I seized $15 000. Oh do you mean you seized like $13,500? Right, right, right.”

Black humour, said Hansen, but given the scope of the investigation against Ruthowsky, he started to wonder.

Hansen said he and others wondered about Ruthowsky further after spending time in hisluxurious back yard.

“We all live where we live and he lives in a half million dollar house in Ancaster with all his new stuff. Like, where the hell did you get the money for this.” he said in the police interview.

Hansen knew that Ruthowsky offered his so-called informant half the crop of marijuana from the Stoney Creek drug bust, which he agreed was both brazen and odd. And he knew Ruthowsky had had a cocaine cutting agent identified at a private lab for his dealer friend. But he didn’t know for sure that Ruthowsky ever sold drugs or took protection money from dealers.

“It’s an easier thing to joke about when you think it’s not real,” he said.

He was asked about other investigations where the seized drugs and money somehow disappeared.

“See how this is all looking, right?” the OPP’s Jonathan Asen said to Hansen.

“Yeah,” Hansen replied. “It’s probably like, a very poor system.”

Yet Hansen had been told by a superior officer that he should be more like Craig Ruthowsky if he wanted a promotion.

“Like, he’s the model we should work after, because of what he does,” Hansen said of Ruthowsky.

The court heard that the Gangs and Weapons Unit worked out of an old condemned police station, and they had cubbies with sticky notes where they kept their evidence, including guns, drugs and cash, without any real oversight. Hansen said he never knew for certain if anyone took any drug money, but he’d think about it sometimes when they’d go out after a big cash seizure, and one officer would buy all the beer.